


Happy For Now

by drivingmishcrazy



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/F, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Happy Ending, I love these nerds, LOTR innuendo, Lesbian Emily Prentiss, Romantic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:22:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29199045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drivingmishcrazy/pseuds/drivingmishcrazy
Summary: Emily wakes up in Tara’s bed. Was it a one night stand, or the first night of the rest of her life?
Relationships: Tara Lewis/Emily Prentiss
Comments: 1
Kudos: 41





	Happy For Now

_ “Well it’s about fucking time you made a move on me, Emily Prentiss. What took you so long?” _

Emily started awake with that one sentence reverberating in her skull. She looked around, a split second of panic forming as she realized that she was  _ not  _ in her bed, then calmed when she remembered where she was, followed by a low groan when the implication of whose bed she  _ was  _ in dawned on her.

The night came back to her in flashes. There had been alcohol involved, but between the lack of a hangover and the clarity with which the memories were coming back to her, Emily was certain that she had been nowhere  _ near  _ her limit the night before. No, if her memory served, she had had just enough to do something that Emily couldn’t decide was very brave, or very stupid. Judging by the dull, satisfying soreness she felt in places that hadn’t received the kind of attention that had been lavished upon them last night in a  _ very  _ long time, coupled with the familiar scent of the faded, oversized band tee shirt she wore and the knowledge that her underwear had somehow been misplaced and had come to be hanging off the handle of the bathroom door, Emily found herself leaning toward the ‘very stupid’ side of things.

She remembered clearly now, how it had begun. They’d both had a couple beers, maybe one too many. Enough to be pleasantly buzzed but not drunk. Emily wasn’t sure who had suggested that they play truth or dare, but it had been her misplaced sense of bravado that had been her undoing.

_ “Okay, your turn.” Tara had said. “Truth or dare?” _

_ “Truth.” Emily had replied with less hesitation than she should have. _

_ Tara quirked an eyebrow. “Ballsy.” _

_ “I’m full of surprises.” Emily grinned. “Now are you going to ask me a question or take a drink?” _

_ “Oh, I’m getting there.” Tara paused for a moment to think. “Okay, what’s your most embarrassing secret right now at this very moment? Something that you would rather  _ die  _ than let anyone find out?” _

_ Emily rolled her eyes. “Seriously?” She asked. “And here I thought we were adults.” _

_ “Come on!” Tara said in a sing-song voice. “I won’t tell anyone that Emily Prentiss is anything less than cool. What is it? Are you afraid of the dark? Do you have a pair of lucky underwear that you wear on every case?” _

_ “Aw gross, no!” Emily said. “No,  _ that  _ was all Morgan and it still squicks me out, they were disgusting.” _

_ “I don’t want to know how you know that.” Tara chuckled. “Okay, seriously though, ‘fess up!” _

_ “Fine.” Emily said with a huff. “I guess right now it’s that I have had this massive crush on this woman for a ridiculously long time and she’s  _ way _ out of my league so I feel like I’m some- some schoolgirl pining away for someone when it’s never gonna happen.” _

_ “You don’t know that!” Tara scoffed. “Come on, you? Who  _ wouldn’t  _ want to go out with you?” _

_ “You’d be surprised.” Emily said. “Besides, it would never work. Anti-fraternization rules.” _

_ Tara rolled her eyes. “Everyone knows there’s ways around that.” She said dismissively. “Although you know you  _ have  _ to tell me who it is now, right?” _

_ “Why?” _

_ “Because!” Tara said. “She’s an agent and if you don’t, I’m gonna be bugging you at work pointing out every attractive woman I see to gauge your reaction.” _

_ “If you wanna know so bad,” Emily said quietly. “Maybe you should take a look in the mirror.” _

_ For one breathless moment, Tara was speechless. But before Emily could open her mouth to apologize or backtrack, Tara’s lips were on hers, hot, greedy, and threatening to break Emily’s very soul open with the intensity of their need. When they broke away, panting and gasping for air, Tara still looked bewildered. _

_ “Well it’s about damn  _ time  _ you made a move on me, Emily Prentiss.” Tara said, the hint of a laugh in her words. “What the hell  _ took  _ you so long?” _

_ “I- I don’t know.”  _

Emily’s face flushed bright red when she thought back to what had followed that conversation. The needy make out session, the mad dash to the bedroom to consummate their...whatever it was. The hasty removal of clothing and the way that Emily had stammered and stuttered when Tara had begun touching her way down Emily’s body, how she had clasped a hand to Tara’s wrist and, blushing furiously, had forced out an admission that caught them  _ both  _ off guard.

_ “I’ve never done this before.” _

_ “What?” Tara raised a brow. “Hooked up with a coworker? I wish I could say the same.” _

_ “No.” Emily looked away, “This.” _

_ “You’ve never-?” Tara asked gently, though she couldn’t mask her surprise. “Is this your first time being…  _ intimate  _ with a woman?” _

_ Emily shrugged. “There was some drunken fumbling in the dark in college.” She replied. “Otherwise, yes.” _

_ Tara’s face broke into the most adorable, endearing, face-splitting grin. The kind that caused her to crinkle her nose and narrow her eyes. She kissed Emily tenderly and her hand ran up and down the expanse of skin between Emily’s bellybutton and her inner thigh. _

_ “That’s okay.” She murmured. “I’ll teach you.” _

_ What followed left Emily undone. Tara was gentle, she took her time. Together they had discovered just how Emily wanted to be touched and in time, Tara showed Emily how  _ she  _ wanted to be touched. By the end of it they were both spent and covered in sweat. Despite practically being a novice on the subject of how to please a woman, Emily proved, with Tara’s guidance, to be a quick study, though she questioned whether she had learned how to please a woman or how to please  _ one  _ woman. After they had both recovered, Tara had gone to her dresser and handed Emily a tee shirt that was loose-fitting on her and that Emily would be practically swimming in. _

_ “Be careful with that one.” Tara said. “That one’s my favorite.” _

Emily looked down at the faded shirt, it was for a band that she couldn’t  _ quite  _ make out the name of. Last night would have been overwhelming in its own right with the confession and the considerable amount of sex that had followed. It would have been enough for Emily to know that she would remember the way Tara Lewis tasted on her tongue and the way she looked and felt when she reached her climax for the rest of her life. It was  _ more  _ than enough that something had clicked inside of Emily that night when Tara begun touching her, paying close attention to the way Emily reacted and asking questions about how Emily touched herself, then responded in kind when the roles reversed by gently guiding Emily’s hands and mouth until the brunette felt confident enough to act without instruction. The years of confusion suddenly felt clear when she was with Tara, she had made peace with her attraction to women long before that night but the way that it all once made sense that Emily had always felt underwhelmed when it came to the men she had dated, that feeling of things being slightly off, that had been one of the more jarring yet delightful discoveries of the night. It was even enough when afterward, before they got dressed but after her legs stopped shaking, Emily had blurted out “holy shit, I think I’m gay!” and Tara had just chuckled, kissed her on the cheek and said “congratulations”. But when they turned in for the night and Tara wrapped her arms around Emily, kissing the back of her neck and shoulders, the tenderness of it had brought Emily nearly to tears.

Now in the light of the morning, Emily was plagued with irrational fear that she had somehow misinterpreted what had happened between her and Tara. Had the other woman’s response been prompted by her own feelings or had she gotten caught up in the heat of the moment? The idea that it was even a possibility made Emily’s heart ache. She didn’t think that most people would shower their casual hook-ups with unbridled affection in the aftermath, but these days she could never be too sure. Tara hadn’t been in bed when Emily woke up, but the smell of coffee and sounds of clattering in the kitchen seemed to suggest that Tara hadn’t  _ completely  _ abandoned her. Still, Emily stood up, throwing the covers off in the process, and resolved to march into the kitchen and insist on clearing up  _ exactly  _ where she and Tara stood with each other. She got as far as the doorway before her courage faltered and she realized that she was still wearing nothing but the t-shirt. Tara turned away from what she had been doing and smirked when she caught sight of Emily, all wild hair and swollen lips, the hem of the shirt just grazing the middle of her thighs. Emily felt her face heat at the way Tara looked at her.

“Good morning, beautiful.” Tara said brightly. “Nice legs. You should keep that shirt, it looks good on you.”

Emily faltered. “You said it was your favorite.”

“Yeah, well.” Tara shrugged. “So are you.”

When Emily didn’t respond after several seconds, Tara crossed the room and took Emily’s hand to pull her close. She wrapped her arms around Emily’s waist, ignoring the flustered noises that came out of Emily’s mouth when she did so, ignored the way that Emily’s cheeks turned red at the realization that her breasts were pressed up against Tara’s, and though she couldn’t completely ignore the doubt and apprehension that Emily had trouble concealing, Tara didn’t comment on it. Instead she contented herself with giving Emily a chaste peck on the lips and brushing the hair out of her eyes. The implied familiarity of the gesture set Emily’s pulse racing almost as much as the warmth of Tara’s smile did when she looked at her. Tara swayed back and forth with Emily in her arms, seeming content with holding her. Emily studied Tara’s face, stunned silent.

“It’s  _ entirely  _ unfair that you look this gorgeous just rolling out of bed.” Tara said softly. “I made coffee if you want some. Are you hungry? I was thinking of doing French toast, I don’t think you’ve ever tried mine. Or whatever you’re hungry for, I don’t mind.”

“Both of those sounds amazing.” Emily said with a sigh. “Thank you.”

When Tara let go of her, Emily felt her face fall as that irrational fear grabbed hold of her again. She was surprised when Tara turned back and handed her a mug of coffee prepared exactly how Emily would have made it herself. Her heart stuttered. It was such a small thing, someone being aware of her coffee preferences and taking the liberty of making it  _ for  _ her completely unprompted, but it touched her all the same. Emily chuckled a little as she took her first sip.

“You know, I was going to ask you what last night meant for us.” She said. “But now I’m getting the feeling that that’s  _ kind of  _ a stupid question.”

Tara grinned and shook her head. “It’s not stupid.” She replied. “Technically I didn’t  _ tell  _ you what I thought it should mean, at least not in so many words…”

“Yeah, but…” Emily said, laughing weakly and clearly more than a little embarrassed. “Context clues…”

Tara took the mug of coffee from Emily’s hands and set it back by the pot, then she proceeded to lift Emily and place her on the counter a safe distance away and began to kiss her. Not the hot, all-consuming kisses they had shared the night before. These were soft, gentle kisses meant to banish any remaining fears that Emily still felt. Tara touched her forehead to Emily’s and smiled at her with so much affection that it made Emily weak in the knees, and her stomach do flips.

“Just so we’re clear,” Tara said, kissing Emily again on the lips. “I feel the same way.”

There were the butterflies again. “That’s good to know.”

Tara let out a surprised little laugh. “Were you really  _ that  _ worried that I wasn’t crazy about you after the night we had together?” She asked. There was amusement in her voice but no mockery.

Emily shrugged. “It wouldn’t be the first time things changed when the sun came up.” She said. “I know it’s not exactly good form to ask to ‘define the relationship’ after we slept together once, but…”

“No, Em.” Tara was firm. “Let’s define the hell out of it so there’s no more doubt: I want  _ you.  _ I want to be yours and I want you to be mine. I want this,  _ us,  _ for as long as we can make each other happy. Sound good?”

Somewhere between the words ‘I want you’ and ‘sound good?’ Tara had begun kissing down Emily’s neck and Emily had to stifle the urge to physically shudder from the sensation of Tara’s lips on her skin and the thought of all the  _ other  _ places she wanted Tara’s lips. It took seconds for Emily to become  _ very  _ ready for round two right there in that kitchen, she had to clench her thighs together, suddenly remembering that she was without underwear and hyper aware of the mess that Tara’s kisses were beginning to make between her legs.

“Yeah.” Emily said. Her throat felt tight. “Sounds good.”

Tara shot her a dirty smirk, fully aware of what she was doing to Emily. “Mmm, you’re so cute when you’re turned on.” She said with a laugh.

“Yeah?” Emily squeaked.

Tara smiled, her nose scrunched up. Emily thought that was the cutest thing Tara did, it was part of what had made Emily realize that she had feelings for Tara in the  _ first  _ place, and it was what made her realize that she was already starting to fall for Tara all over again, thinking ‘god, what I wouldn’t give to make her smile like that for the rest of my life’. It was infectious and it made Emily want to grin like an idiot in response.

“Yeah.” Tara replied. “It’s  _ almost  _ as cute as the way you look after I make you come. You have a hell of an afterglow, Agent Prentiss.”

Emily bit her lip. “Well, maybe you’re just  _ very  _ good at doing that, Agent Lewis.”

“Or…” Tara’s face went all soft and dreamy looking at her and it made Emily want to melt. “Maybe you just look extra beautiful when you’re happy.”

Emily felt like she must be glowing now the way Tara’s words lit her up inside. She didn’t consider herself to have a low self-esteem or lack any more confidence than most people but god almighty, it was  _ mind-boggling  _ to her that this woman seemed to not only desire her but actually  _ want  _ her in more than just a physical sense. Tara looked at and spoke to Emily the way you looked at someone who was precious to you. Past encounters with others had left her feeling as if she were a means to an end. With Tara, nothing could have been further from the truth. Tara had handled her with care, had touched and tasted her with obvious enjoyment but more than that, she had imparted with every touch the sense that she had a profound respect and affection for Emily that went beyond the physical. It made Emily feel warm inside, and she couldn’t help the soft, warm smile that spread across her face in response.

“Well, you  _ do  _ make me very happy.” Emily said.

Then Tara broke into her biggest smile yet. Her face lit up like a thousand suns. Her eyes crinkled at the ends and her nose scrunched up and Emily thought her heart might burst just looking at Tara, radiant in her happiness. Tara leaned in close, her lips brushing Emily’s ear as if she were about to tell her a secret.

“Good.” She whispered. “Because I plan on making you happy for a very,  _ very  _ long time.”

Tara pulled back slightly then brought her lips to Emily’s and in that moment, Emily could feel herself letting go of every fear of letting anyone get too close of her she’d ever had, fears that she’d had for as long as she could remember. The fear of letting someone in only to be abandoned, the fear of never being enough slipped away as if they were slipping right through her fingers. Basking in the warmth of what she felt for Tara Lewis, Emily decided that the risk was worth it. She couldn’t call it love, not yet, it was too soon. But it felt like the  _ promise  _ and potential of love was waiting to bloom, if both of them were brave enough to cultivate it. It made Emily wanted to try with Tara and for the first time in her life, she felt truly free. They broke apart and Tara was breathing heavily as she pulled Emily close, wrapping her in a tight hug. She didn’t shake or make any noise that would have led Emily to believe that she was crying, she shed no tears which Emily would have felt landing on her skin, but the intensity of the moment was enough to communicate that this moment was just as emotional for Tara as it was for Emily. They stayed like that for a long while before Tara finally pulled away and kissed Emily on the forehead.

“Come on.” Tara said, gazing deep into Emily’s eyes as if the meaning of the universe waited there for her in those brown orbs. “You need to eat breakfast.”

The lust Emily had felt earlier returned and she leaned in close, the tip of her nose brushing Tara’s. “I need  _ you.”  _ She said in a low voice, pressing her forehead to Tara’s. Tara smirked and pecked her lips.

“Don’t worry.” Tara said. “That’s what  _ second  _ breakfast is for.”

Emily barked out a laugh at that. She had landed herself a true geek and she thought that sounded just right. She let Tara help her down from the counter and the two fell into what Emily suspected would later become a morning routine. Tara cooked and Emily got out plates and silverware, talking to Tara about everything and nothing while she did. When they ate, there were periods of silence but it was a comfortable silence, the kind that only came when two people were perfectly at ease with one another. Once they were done, the kitchen was hastily cleaned and the two women fell back into bed and spent the remainder of the morning melting into one another, then they laid there in each other’s arms until afternoon light filtered through the curtains. What the future held in store neither Tara or Emily could say, but they were more than ready to face it together. Their feelings gave them courage and they would draw strength from their bond, come what may. They had the potential to grow a love that would set the world on fire and Tara and Emily were both  _ more _ than ready to take that chance.

  
  
  



End file.
